In an age where many airlines are doing away with First Class altogether, itโs good to see others doubling down and investing in making it even better.
In that vein, Singapore Airlines has just announced some enhancements to its First Class soft product, which weโll start to see from the end of this month.
Additional champagne option in First Class
From 27 October 2019, First Class passengers on selected flights will get to enjoy Taittinger Comtes de Champagne.
From the PR:
| Produced by the prestigious family-owned champagne house Taittinger, Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs is produced only in the best years, composed exclusively of Chardonnay grown in five Grand Crus vineyards, and only first press wine (the โcuvรฉeโ) is used to give it an absolute guarantee of quality. With strict criteria governing its production and a long maturation period of eight to 10 years, the bottles are not produced in large volumes, making it a rare and celebrated wine. |
If youโre a fan of Dom Perignon and Krug Grand Cuvee, donโt despair. This champagne isnโt replacing them, itโs being added as a third option. Now you can do a blind tasting of three different exquisite champagnes at 37,000 feet, surely the best reason for collecting miles and points in the first place.
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Update: Iโve learned that there will be two champagne options in First Class, not three. Taittinger Comtes de Champagne will replace Krug Grand Cuvee and be served alongside Dom Perignon where available. Thanks @seeingtheworldinsteps for the screenshot below
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The new champagne will first be served on flights to Auckland, Beijing, Delhi, Dubai, Melbourne, Mumbai, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney and Tokyo Haneda from 27 October 2019 to February 2020, before being rotated to other routes.
In the table below Iโve split Singapore Airlinesโ current First Class routes into when theyโll receive the new champagne:
| 27 October 2019- Feb 2020 | After Feb 2020 |
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| Osaka may occasionally have First Class seats when the A380 is operated. According to reports, Jakarta operates a โreducedโ First Class service with only a single champagne offering, so it may not receive the new one either. |
New amenity kits
From mid-November 2019, First Class passengers will receive special edition unisex amenity kits with a new series of crystal fishes from French crystalmaker Lalique.
You might remember that the Lalique amenities kits were launched back in 2017 along with the new Suites class.
I received one of these in 2018 when I reviewed the new A380 Suites, although mine was sadly lacking a crystal fish. Lalique may not be as well known for skincare products as Salvatore Ferragamo (SQโs former choice), but they were good enough for me.
Iโm booked on a Suites flight on 6 November, which I suspect will be too early to receive the new kit, but fingers crossed.
Enhanced caviar service
Whatโs First Class without caviar, right? From 2020, First Class passengers will enjoy an โenhanced caviar service that will be expanded to more flightsโ.
What might an enhanced caviar service entail? Well, Singapore Airlinesโ current caviar setup does not incorporate the classic mother-of-pearl spoon, which purists will tell you is important to prevent caviar โberriesโ from obtaining a metallic, unpleasant taste. Perhaps theyโll be adding this, as it does seem an odd omission for an airline that professes to pay attention to the smallest detail.
Itโs unclear from the press release whether the enhanced caviar service will be expanded to more flights, or whether caviar service will be expanded to more flights. Singapore Airlines currently does not offer caviar service on so called โsleeper serviceโ flights, generally those which depart after 11 p.m. If you see a โsupperโ menu when you check your booking online, it means no caviar is coming your way. Therefore, Iโm sure a lot of people would be happy if caviar were at least added as an option for the supper flights.
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Update (29/10): Thanks to reader Ivan, we now have a first glimpse at this new service. It appears SQ is now providing a mother-of-pearl spoon and white sturgeon caviar.
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Other First Class enhancements
Back in September 2018, Singapore Airlines announced that it was going to introduce B&O H9i headphones in Suites and First Class from October 2018.
Assuming they kept to that timeline, then the wired version of the headphones should already be available across the fleet.
What excites me even more however, is that there were plans to introduce the wireless version too, which I think may be a first for any airline. A wireless version would spell the end of tangled cables and toppled drinks, and would be objectively awesome (well, at least until some brain trust wears them into the loo).
If anyone has been on a First Class flight recently and can report as to the status of the wireless headphone rollout, Iโd be interested to hear about it!
Conclusion
Itโs good to see Singapore Airlines continually innovating in its First Class cabins, already one of the best in the world. There may be no walk up bar or fancy showers, but you still get a โclassicโ flying experience, and a very good one at that.
What does nov 2019 โ feb2020 mean? No more after that? That will be sadโฆ.
means it will go to other routesโฆthen hopefully if response is good theyโll make it a permanent feature? be sure to gush very loudly in the cabin OMG THIS NEW TATTINGER CHAMPAGNE IS SO GOOD, preferably within earshot of the IFS.
No mention of amenity kits being provided on flights shorter than 6 hours (HKG, DEL, BOM, PVG, PEK, etc.)?
Awesomeโฆ although I cant always afford a first class redemption, I think might be worth getting one as a treat to myself next year
Now thatโs what weโre talking about! โProceeds to check the cheapest first class saver after.โ
Well, from the email Dennison on the million telegram chat received, it seems that as usual SQ is spinning this. It appears that they will serve Dom and Tattinger till February and Krug and Tattinger from then on. So no, they will not have 3 champagnes in first at any time. I wonder if the other โenhancementsโ are going to be in the same vein?
This should also include the seasonal A380 to KIX, correct? Is there any confirmed caviar service for that route?
If I recall correctly the seasonal a380 to kix runs end Dec. By the time the first rotation is done, kix wonโt be a380 anymore. So I wouldnโt count on getting it
Letโs hope itโs not an enhanced caviar service the way that KF award chart changes are enhancedโฆ
I flew LHR-SYD on Monday. Wired B&Oheadphones both flights. No caviar service on SQ305 as a brunch serviceโฆ on SQ241 FA told me they were trialling a new Beluga caviar and wanted my opinions. Rest of caviar service seemed pretty standard.
thanks for the data point! i guess the wait for wireless continuesโฆ
does anyone know which route will have Amenity kits?
Beginner question: Iโm flying SQ406 (SIN-DEL) in F (Suites) in September. The currently available menu for that route is showing a โDinnerโ (not โSupperโ) menu โ but no caviar service. Shouldnโt there be one? Or do some routes just not get caviar service?
thatโs odd, typically SQ reserves the โsupperโ title for flights without caviarโฆ
I donโt know, to be honest. I do know that SIN-CGK doesnโt get caviar even during dinner service- they just include it as part of the salad. but thatโs a 75 minute flight, whereas delhi is relatively much longer.
Thanks for your reply Aaron. Thereโs still a couple of weeks until my flight. Maybe the menu will change until then. Iโll report back ๐